SADJ 7#3

SHOW COVERAGE
10th Edition 2014
By Dan Shea
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is host to the SOFEX military
trade show held every two years in Amman, Jordan. Regionally,
this is one of the most important shows that concerned people
can attend. It’s not just the juxtaposition to current combat areas;
Jordan has always been a meeting ground for concerned military
groups. Vendors report a lot of success if their products meet the current
threats, but the Jordanian Armed Forces have always looked at
different possible solutions to the threats, and tried many alternatives.
In other words, if you have an innovative weapon or military product,
the odds are that there will be people in authority willing to give it a
test. And, those people are definitely at the SOFEX show, looking to
talk with the vendors.
This atmosphere attracts a lot of interesting companies, thus,
SOFEX has become a gathering place for interested end users as well.
A lot of exhibitors were from U.S. companies, as always. This doesn’t
mean that the Russians and Chinese aren’t heavily represented; they
are and have their own buildings. It’s just that a plethora of U.S. small
arms manufacturers were there at the show, with real weapons on display
instead of just posters. That tends to draw more interest. Poland,
Bulgaria, Serbia, France, and the UK also had heavy representation.
Every two years SOFEX coincides with the annual KASOTC Warrior
Competition with SADJ attending both. While the SOFEX show
has a concentration of vendors in a variety of buildings around a central
parade ground, with outdoor exhibits, there is also an air show,
and numerous demonstrations of tactical skills. The heliborne assault
that is presented is not only visual, but a crowd pleaser. Special Forces
troops ride in to rescue “hostages” in a very high speed and theatrical
manner. So, the show is broken up for the attendees by outdoor events
that are right on premises and don’t take the attendees away from the
displays for very long. All in all, a very satisfying event, and SOFEX,
while a mature show, shows all the signs of continuing to grow.
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